UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Doreen "Middle Hut Bess" Context Map (with Green Wedge Dwellings)

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Public canonical key

radar:r-3fe509e91b5b1dad1ea8a8f547897dc7

Authors

SARAH HUNTER

Reported year

2026

Reported language

und

Source type

Image

First detected

2026-11-13T08:38:57.300734+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-13T08:38:57.300734+00:00

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Institutions reported by the source

University of Melbourne

Documentary abstract — original language

This is a graphic map illustrating the context and relationships of a proposed industrial scale battery storage proposed for Middle Hut road Doreen, on agricultural land in the Nillumbik Green Wedge. This map builds on the<b><i> Doreen "Middle Hut Bess" Context Map</i></b> https://doi.org/10.26188/33325266 by the addition of Green Wedge homes/dwellings.The dwellings within the Green Wedge are specifically shown in order to highlight that there are substantial numbers of homes, families and in many cases vulnerable persons impacted by the proposal and in particular the fire risk from the battery storage proposal.This text forms a draft of an additional statement to be separately uploaded to DOI Green Wedge DwellingsThe proposed BESS site is a farm property which operated for generations as a farm. It contains a dwelling on site.The next nearest dwelling is at a historic farm 'Hazelglen', which formed part of an early colonial settlement called Reid’s Run[1]. ‘Hazelglen’ has in place a heritage overlay[2]. The properties are around 20 metres apart across Middle Hut Road and the dwelling is around 170M from the site proposed for the BESS.There are numerous dwellings on rural living lots along Chapel Lane slightly south and to the west of the proposed BESS site. The nearest of these lots is approximately 300M from the proposed BESS site, and the house approximately 560 metres from it.Similarly, there are numerous rural living/small acreages properties along a Daisy Hill Road, Hoban Court and Linton Court to the west of the proposed BESS site.Dwellings on farms or larger acreages otherwise surround the proposed site.Fire zoning. fire prone landscapeThe whole area west of Yan Yean road including the proposed BESS site is designated a Bushfire Prone area[3].The local fire Authority is the Country Fire Authority (CFA) staffed largely by volunteers[4]. There are regularly fires in the area dealt with by the CFA, largely during the fire danger period corresponding with the hottest months.The area surrounding the proposed BESS site includes properties within the Bushfire Management overlay. For example, 360 Chapel Lane within the Bushfire management overlay is located approximately 470 metres from the proposed BESS site[5]. As a result of ‘lessons learned’ through Black Saturday and the Royal Commission that followed, that property received state government funding in 2014 to reduce ignition hazards and improve survivability during fires. The landholder has shared the following information:“My property sits within a recognized, highest-tier catastrophic bushfire risk area. The critical nature of this risk is explicitly acknowledged by the Victorian Government, which recently awarded me a grant under the Powerline Replacement Fund (PRF) / Private Overhead Electric Line (POEL) scheme to convert my overhead powerlines underground. The state funded this intervention specifically to eliminate ignition risks and protect our community from devastating bushfires.It is a profound contradiction for the State Government to fund the removal of micro-ignition hazards on my property, only to turn around and approve a massive, utility-scale lithium-ion battery installation directly adjacent to it. Introducing a complex chemical infrastructure facility capable of severe "thermal runaway" into an area the state has already deemed too high-risk for standard overhead powerlines is fundamentally unsafe and illogical.”The BESS site is in the region of the Black Saturday burned footprint[6]. This remains a traumatic lived experience for local residents for multiple reasons. On Black Saturday Chapel Lane residents were warned to evacuate urgently as the fires, in Kinglake at that time, were only 5 minutes away[7].<br>Battery storage fire and associated hazardsIt is well recognised that Lithium Battery energy storage has substantial risks that must be considered in siting and planning decisions.The CFA draft Guidelines[8] highlight the fact that “lithium ion battery chemistries.. all have the potential for thermal runaway, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP/LiFePO4) batteries.”.They detail the hazards of BESS facilities as follows.<i>Hazards may include:</i><b><i>Fire hazards </i></b><i>such as bushfire/grassfire from infrastructure fire within the facility; ignition of site infrastructure from embers or radiant heat from external bushfire/grassfire; fire spread due to proximity of BESS to each other, on-site infrastructure and vegetation.</i><b><i>Electrical hazards </i></b><i>due to battery defects and faults, overcharging, and rapid discharge; arc flash; loss of remote monitoring and control systems; internal short circuits; overheating; water ingress; lightning strike; mechanical damage (leading to thermal events/runaway).</i><b><i>Stranded energy hazards </i></b><i>due to BESS defects and faults; physical battery damage; abnormal operating conditions.</i><b><i>Explosion hazards </i></b><i>due to ignition of venting gases.</i><b><i>Chemical hazards </i></b><i>due to smoke, venting gases and vapours; stored dangerous goods; spills and leaks of transformer oil/diesel, refrigerant gas/coolant; chemical reactions.</i>These hazards are documented in scientific literature[9]. Real world incidents demonstrate the specific outcomes arising from BESS fires which directly impact surrounding communities. The Moss Landing Fire in January 2025, which burned again from decommissioned unit in September 2026, provides a specific example of the way that a BESS fire can impact humans, land and water resources, and wildlife.The Moss Landing Plant is located on industrial land close to the Pacific Coast and Elkhorn Slough wetlands, which limited the number of homes and schools impacted. However, the evacuation zone for the fire disaster was over 5 kilometres in some directions[10]. The actual fire was contained to the facility, however 1200 residents near to the industrial site were evacuated due to the associated risk[11]. Many nearby residents believe that they became ill following the disaster as a result ofinhalation of toxins[12].A study led by Marine Geologist Ivano Aiello which built on data collection that began prior to the fire estimated that 25 metric tonnes of heavy metals were deposited in the 1200 square metre area of wetland that they surveyed. This was only part of the area impacted and he estimated that it may only represent 2% of the metals released during the fire[13].In the case of the proposed Middle Hut BESS, the equivalent evacuation distance (which might differ depending on wind speed and direction) would take in all of the Green Wedge dwellings shown on the plan, together with the vast majority of homes in Doreen (representing around 27,000 residents).According to Aiello the concentrations of metal deposition found in the wetland study site <i>peaked</i> within 1-3KM distance of the facility. The equivalent <i>peak</i> impact area represents all of the dwellings shown on the map, reaching well inside the GRZ (general residential zoning) on the west side of Yan Yean Road.<br>The entire area to the east of Yan Yean Road is<br><br><br>The context map illustrates relationships with the surrounding landscape and communities. It includes some fauna and flora (from a much more comprehensive list) present in the road, creek (and only in the case of platypus) in downstream waters.The graphic also highlights the significant level change on the proposed BESS site, over over 50 metres in level from the high points to the low point of the creek which will act to carry out contamination into downstream farmland and the Yarra river system in this unsewered, agricultural district.MethodThe Map uses the DELWP mapping tile: Map Sheet Number 7922-4-1-3 30KA4, Scale 30KA4 sourced from Vicmap Viewer.Annotations were undertaken in Adobe Illustrator to produce the published figure HUNTER, SARAH (2026). Doreen "Middle Hut Bess" Context Map. The University of Melbourne. Figure. https://doi.org/10.26188/33325266Subsequently in this version dwellings were added using an indicative house symbol (native to Illustrator) and amber highlight matched to the amber colour of the Doreen GRZ (general residential zoning) within the urban growth boundary west of Yan Yean Road. The homes are not sized to scale.The dwelling sites were identified using the aerial mapping program ‘Nearmap’ and in some cases the marks shown on the DELWP mapping.Additional ReferencesMiddle Hut BESS. ‘Middle Hut BESS’. https://middlehutbess.com.au.See also Carey, Adam. ‘Turnbull-Backed Battery Proposal Sets off Sparks in Doreen’. The Age, 20 August 2026. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/turnbull-backed-battery-proposal-sets-off-sparks-in-doreen-20260819-p60ptr.html.Positionality statementThe author is affected by the Middle Hut BESS proposal and a member of the impacted green wedge community. She is a member of groups opposed to the BESS including the public Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/stopthedoreenbess and a signatory of the community petition against the BESS https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-doreen-bess.<br>[1] https://www.upthecreekvictoria.com.au/hazel-glen-run/[2] Overlay mapping is illustrated on VicPlan Planning Property reports published by the Department of Transport and Planning. Sourced via https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan/ Additional detail about the heritage site is shown at https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/54786[3] Overlay mapping at VicPlan Planning Property reports as above published by the Department of Transport and Planning. Sourced via https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan/[4] https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/report/managing-emergency-services-volunteers?section= ; https://www.vfbv.com.au/[5] Sourced via https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan/, distance measured by Nearmap https://apps.nearmap.com/maps/#/ZL2lpNmJT42FDONHU2XJRA/@-37.5838348,145.1687385,14.84z,0d/V+R/20260425.[6] HUNTER, SARAH (2026). Doreen 'Middle Hut Bess' Black Saturday Context Map . The University of Melbourne. Figure. https://doi.org/10.26188/33364254[7] Personal communication with Janette Colistra who confirmed emergency services attendance on Black Saturday Confirmed in text message 29/09/2026: “The CFA said we had 5 minutes to get out before the fire would be here and that stage the fire was still in Kinglake”[8] https://engage.cfa.vic.gov.au/projects/cfa-design-guidelines-for-renewable-energy-facilities[9] Funk et al. (2026). Lithium-ion battery design fires in performance-based fire safety engineering. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 102, 106021; Lystianingrum et al. (2023). Lessons learned from large-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems incidents. Process Safety Progress, 42, 348–355.; Goldsmith (2025). Lessons learned from battery energy storage system (BESS) hazard analyses. Process Safety Progress, 44, 245–255. VBB Fire Investigation Report (2022). Victorian Big Battery Fire: July 30, 2021 – Report of Technical Findings. Fisher Engineering &amp; Energy Safety Response Group. Bravo Diaz et al. (2020). Meta-Review of Fire Safety of Lithium-Ion Batteries. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 167, 090559. Bugryniec et al. (2024). Review of gas emissions from lithium-ion battery thermal runaway failure. Journal of Energy Storage, 87, 111288.<br>[10] https://www.ktvu.com/news/moss-landing-fire-map-evacuation-zone, distances measured in Nearmap[11] https://www.mosslandingresponse.com/[12] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/us/california-battery-plant-fire.html[13] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-25972-8; https://theconversation.com/when-the-worlds-largest-battery-power-plant-caught-fire-toxic-metals-rained-down-wetlands-captured-the-fallout-268848

Identifiers

DOI

10.26188/34624638.v1

Documentary context

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unknown

Source-reported types

Image

Publishers

The University of Melbourne

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Sources

DataCite · Record 1

• Document · https://figshare.unimelb.edu.au/articles/figure/Doreen_Middle_Hut_Bess_Context_Map_with_Green_Wedge_Dwellings_/34624638/1

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